


The Devil Is In The Details

by Ailette



Series: Devil Series [2]
Category: New Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Imported, M/M, Post-Civil War (Marvel), fix-it for the fix-it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-06-24
Updated: 2008-06-24
Packaged: 2018-06-05 03:14:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6686911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ailette/pseuds/Ailette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to The Devil’s Bridge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Devil Is In The Details

“Cap, are you alright?” Jan’s voice echoed from the far walls in the seemingly giant cathedral. It was empty, apart from Steve and her. And Steve was sitting in the first row, looking unbelievably small in his suit for a man larger than life. Even his voice sounded small.  


“How can I be alright?”  


Jan sighed. She didn’t expect Cap to just bounce back into action immediately after the service was over, but it had been over a week now since he came back from the dead and she hadn’t seen his I-love-America-and-basically-the-whole-world smile even once. People were supposed to be happy when they came back to life, right? In a better world, Steve wouldn’t be this sad. But in a perfect world, his best friend wouldn’t have had to give his life and soul for him in the first place. In a perfect world, the Civil War would have never started. In a perfect world, Cap and Tony would have gotten their heads out of their asses, just admitted that they were the perfect fit for each other and had their wedding here, in this cathedral. Never mind that homosexual marriage wasn’t legal. Jan smiled to herself. No one could have stopped those two.  


"How can I be alright, knowing Tony is in hell, suffering because of me?”  


But this wasn’t a perfect world.  


“Stop beating yourself up, Cap! Tony brought you back here for a reason. You may not feel like sharing that reason with the rest of us, but I’m damn sure it wasn’t for you to sit around and pine over him!”  


“Are you trying to say I shouldn't mourn my best friend?” Steve sounded angry when he looked up and straight at her. For a moment, she was relieved. It was the first time he had made eye contact with anyone today. However, the relief only lasted for a couple of seconds.  


“No, Cap, I’m not. You know that I would never ask you such a thing! And I’m very aware that it’s impossible.” She gave a short, humourless laugh. “I know I would never stop mourning Hank, if the situation were reversed.”  


“Did she just compare our friendship to her _marriage?”  
_

Steve suddenly looked in a completely different direction. Jan sighed once more. It was hopeless. No matter what she said, it would only make things worse. Slowly shaking her head, she got up from the uncomfortable wooden bench.  


“I’ll just go and meet with the others for the press conference. You know it would be better if you showed up there, too. The press is going to have a field day if you’re not the one making the official announcement regarding Tony’s death.” Steve didn’t even turn his head. Right. It was time for her to go.  


Just as the massive door fell into its lock behind her, Steve dared to speak.  


“Tony!”  


The faintly see-through figure in front of Steve smirked. “Sorry. I hope I didn’t scare you too much?”  


It had taken all of Steve’s strength not to jump when he first heard Tony’s voice beside him. As soon as he turned his head and saw him standing right next to him he was too shocked to say anything. Only when Jan had left without even noticing their dead friend had he found his voice again. Now, however, he carefully stood up and reached out with his hand. It wasn’t impossible for Tony to be back. Looking at the record of super human deaths it wouldn’t even be that unusual. Hope flared in Steve as he extended his hand only to die immediately when his hand went straight through Tony’s jaw. He let his hand fall back to his side trying and failing to mask the pain on his face.  


“You’re not real.”  


“Now, that’s just not nice. First you ignore me and then you tell me I’m not real. Is that any way to thank the person who gave up his soul for you?” The voice was light and mocking. It didn’t even sound like Tony. Steve ran his hand over his face,taking a deep breath.  


“I need to get some sleep. It won’t do anyone any good if I start hallucinating in the middle of a fight and start attacking the wrong people. We’ve had enough of that…”  


“Cap. Come on, don’t just turn around and leave me here!”  


“Perhaps I can still make it to the press conference. Jan’s right. We don’t want to send any wrong signals now.” Steve just kept on talking on his way to the car. And if he got louder while doing so, it was not because of Tony’s voice also getting louder. It might be better if he went back to Stark Tower right away. Luckily, he drove to the funeral by himself and turned down Jarvis's offer to drive him. He would have had a hard time explaining to him why he kept looking at the passenger seat and wincing. Ignoring the penetrating voice that still didn’t really sound like Tony, he entered the penthouse. He couldn’t hear any noise so no one was back yet. It was doubtful anyone would come back at all, Steve realised. What with Tony being dead and the superhuman community still wary of each other. He sighed for what felt like the hundredth time today.  


“Steeeeeeve. I know you can hear me!”  


Right, time he went to bed. Steve skipped brushing his teeth (though he did feel a little guilty about it) and went straight to his room. He considered getting out of his suit but settled with shrugging out of the jacket and dropping off his tie instead. No matter how not real Tony was, Steve couldn’t undress in front of him. Still turning a blind eye to Not-Tony, Steve climbed under the blanket, facing the wall. As soon as Not-Tony vanished from his sight the room went silent. Thank god.  


***  


 

“You don’t even want to know why I’m here?” This time, Steve jumped. He had been about to fall asleep when he heard Tony’s voice again. No, wait. Not-Tony. His hallucinations didn’t qualify as Tony.  


“Or you just don’t care.” It was the sadness in the voice that made Steve turn around. It was also sadness that made the voice sound like Tony’s, he realised.  


Only a couple of feet away he saw the image of his friend, slightly glowing in the dark, sitting opposite his bed. His expression was one of defeat. The expression of someone who had fought an endless battle and was now too tired to continue it any longer. Steve’s heart tightened.  


“Alright! I’ll talk to you. Just… don’t look at me like that.” Great. Now he was talking to his hallucination. Or maybe something worse. What if some villain tried to play a trick on him? A low chuckle tore him from his musings.  


“You think I’m a figment of your imagination and you still want to talk to me?”  


“Well, if I’m already seeing dead people, how much worse can I make it by talking to them?”  


Not-Tony chuckled again. “That actually makes sense.” Seconds ticked by before Steve spoke up again.  


“So… why?”  


“Mh? Why what?”  


“Why are you here? And I still think you’re not real, just so we’re clear.” Maybe he added that a little too hastily.  


“Nice of you to tell me. Even though I _am_ real. And as to why I’m here,” he sent a small smile in Steve’s direction ~~.~~ “I don’t know where else to go.”  


Steve raised his eyebrows. “Right. You’re stuck in hell and the Devil just decided to let you go on vacation.”  


“Yeah, about that “stuck in hell” part. Apparently, there’s been a mistake. Mephisto overcharged me. Some guys came to pick me up from hell as soon as I entered. Didn’t even spend a minute there.”  


Steve stared at Not-Tony. Was his subconscious trying to make him feel better? If so, it could have come up with an a little more convincing story. “Mephisto overcharged you.”  


Not-Tony rolled his eyes. “I know, I know. It sounds farfetched. When they first told me, I didn’t believe it either.”  


“So, let’s say I believed you. Why would you come here? If your soul is free, then you should go to heaven or something, right?”  


Not-Tony snorted disdainfully. “Heaven. Me? Steve, you know how many people are dead because of me. And murderers don’t go to heaven.”  


“You’re not a murderer!” The words came out harsh and before he could stop them. Tony actually flinched. Steve rubbed at his temple. He was losing it. For a second he had believed him. He had believed it was Tony. But Tony wouldn’t come back. He _couldn’t_ come back.  


“Maybe we should continue this tomorrow. You look tired. How long has it been since you last slept?”  


Steve laughed without humour. He hadn’t slept more then three hours continuously since Tony had returned him to life. For the past three days he hadn’t slept more then two hours.  


Not-Tony got up from where he had been sitting and took the few steps to sit down next to Steve. His eyes focused on him, giving him a contemplative look. “Just go to sleep. I’ll be here and see that you get a little more of it.” Steve wanted to protest. He really did. If only he weren’t so tired all of a sudden… He yawned. How did he get this tired in such a short time…? Blinking, he tried to focus on Tony. Was that Tony’s hand on top of his? How he wished he could feel it…  


***   


Steve let out a deep breath when he awoke. He kept his eyes shut while he sat up and yawned long and genuinely. He nearly fell out of the bed when he heard Tony’s voice again.  


“Morning, Sleeping Beauty. I’d like to inform you that you just slept through eleven hours without so much as turning your head. For a minute there I was worried that you had decided to join me on the other side.”  


With his eyes wide open again Steve mustered Not-Tony who still sat beside him. It didn’t look like he had slept or moved at all, but something was different. It took him a moment to pinpoint what it was, exactly. He looked more solid. Steve couldn’t just look through him anymore.  


“What happened to you?” He meant the looking-more-solid thing but Not-Tony made a grimace and growled slightly.  


“Right back on track, I see.” Not-Tony sighed before he moved to sit cross-legged on Steve’s bed now directly facing him with his penetrating gaze. “Alright, I’m going to explain it to you properly. I won’t get into details since I can’t remember everything. All I know is what I was told before I appeared at my own funeral. Mephisto asked for my death and my soul in order to bring you back to life. Apparently, that was too much. He couldn’t keep my soul without giving more. Usually, my soul would have gone to rest somewhere except that my case is somewhat special. Seems like Mephisto doesn’t mess up a lot of his deals. So, no one really knows what do to with me. They told me if I went back to earth I would probably be bound to you since we are connected due to the deal I made.”  


As deals with the devil go, this was surprisingly easy to understand. “What happens to you now?”  


Looking a little sheepish Maybe-Tony shrugged his shoulders. “Well, for now I’m all ghost like until they decide what to do with me. This means that a) you are the only one who can see and hear me and b) I’m a little detached from my feelings and maybe act a little out of character.”  


Nodding, Steve wondered for a moment about his sanity before he asked, “They can’t just give you back your body?”  


“Nah. I’m still dead, that’s part of the deal and no one can undo that. But apparently they still need me here for something and I can’t go anywhere else until they figure out a loop-hole in the contract.” Fiddling with his cufflinks Maybe-Tony shot him an uncertain glance from under his eyelashes. “You believe me yet?”  


“I’m… inclined to. If you can give me any proof.”  


Maybe-Tony gave him a wistful look. “I could strip,” he offered innocently and Steve’s ears turned a brilliant shade of red.  


“How would that help?”  


“Well, it would certainly help my reputation if I had Captain America on my conquests list.” He smirked. “But I guess it wouldn’t help my case right now. How about the fact that I know you take your shield into bed with you and tuck it in every night?”  


Steve’s jaw dropped. “How do you know that?”  


Another smirk. “Please. It wasn’t a joke when I told you I had security cameras installed everywhere in the tower. And with the Extremis…”  


Steve tried very desperately not to think about all the other things Tony might have seen. “But then someone else could have known that as well.” And he didn’t want to think about that possibility either.  


Maybe-Tony’s voice still sounded eerily light when he started talking again but now it had a deeper sound to it. Steve could hear the emotion. Just like he had heard the sadness yesterday. “In the middle of the Civil War, I called you out to the Mansion. You came. You made me take off the mask and we talked about the past. In the end, we fought and you beat the hell out of me but didn’t follow through with your last punch. After that, the last thing you said to me was, “We should have talked sooner,” and I agreed. I was sure our friendship ended that day.”  


Steve closed his eyes briefly against the memory. He was ashamed to admit it, but he had already thought of Tony – no, Stark. Stark or Iron Man. He had rarely called him Tony those days – as his enemy. The moment they met on the battlefield, Stark had been the enemy and Steve swamped their friendship out of his mind. Maybe he would have listened to Tony more earnestly had he still thought of him as his best friend and not the man he might have to eliminate one day.  


“I’m so sorry, Tony.” Tony just smiled at him.  


***   


Over the next few days Steve got used to Tony’s presence around him. He didn’t tell anyone about Tony’s miraculous return but it got harder to remember Tony’s state of invisibility to the others when to him, Tony looked as alive as he had ever been. Better even, since there were no dark circles under his eyes and he seemed completely at peace with himself. And “peace” was a word he would have never thought he’d eventually associate with his best friend. But something else was… off.  


“I’ll go and take a shower. You want me to turn on the TV for you?”  


“Why can't I go to the bathroom with you?” Tony whined.  


Steve suppressed a groan. Here they went again. “Because I’m going to be naked and I prefer to be alone when that occurs.” He realised the opening he had left for Tony too late.  


“That must make for some kinky sex. Why, I would have never guessed, Mr. Rogers.” Was that a leer? Oh, dear god, Tony was leering at him. Again. A blush crept up his cheeks. Steve turned around and pressed the towel harder against his chest. He was out of the room and storming into the bath so fast, he didn’t even hear Tony’s snickering. Leaning against the bathroom door, Steve willed his heart to stop beating so damn fast.  


Yes, something was off. Or rather, someone was off. He got used to an emotionally disabled Tony but this was…  


“You do realize you can’t lock me out of a room, right?” Steve nearly dropped the towel when Tony appeared next to him, casually leaning against the wall he had just come through.  


“Why are you doing this?” At this point, Steve’s voice spoke of honest wonder. Tony just shrugged.  


“I’m bored when you go somewhere without me. And it’s not like you have to be ashamed of your body. You’re perfect after all.”  


“Tony, I really don’t appreciate the fact that you were spying on us through the security cameras and maybe-“  


“I wasn’t spying on you when you were naked!” Tony looked honestly offended. “I was talking about the Super-Soldier-Serum! Human perfection, remember?”  


“Oh.” Steve looked embarrassed. When Tony had told him about the security camera in his bedroom he had just assumed-  


“I may have peeked through the door to the gym’s showers though.”  


Steve gasped. “Why do you keep on doing this?”  


Nonplussed, Tony asked, “Doing what?”  


“You… you've been flirting with me the whole time!” And Steve really shouldn’t have sounded like a woman in her twenties facing unwarranted sexual harassment. Tony just stared at him for a couple of seconds, mouth hanging slightly open. Then, suddenly, understanding lit his face.  


“Oh. I guess I have been.” He looked at his feet for a moment before meeting Steve’s gaze again. “Does it bother you?”  


“I… well, no, but… Where did that come from all of a sudden?”  


Tony rubbed his neck, seemingly deep in thought. “I’ve always had somewhat of a crush on you, but I never acted on it. There were always things to be considered, stopping me. Maybe you would feel offended and end our friendship. Maybe I didn’t deserve you. Maybe I was just going to embarrass myself. Maybe I wasn't capable of having a relationship with someone I really trusted and loved.” He shrugged again. “But all these things don’t really bother me at the moment. You remember how I told you I’m a little detached from my feelings in this form? Well, apparently my old worries are a part of them.”  


Somehow, Steve couldn’t bring himself to be angry about that.

**Author's Note:**

> (Originally posted at http://ailette.livejournal.com/10424.html)  
> Beta: tmelange


End file.
